Statistics

China Feb non-manufacturing PMI hits one-year low

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-03-04 14:38

BEIJING: China's official purchasing managers' index for non-manufacturing sectors plunged to a one-year low at 46.4 in February from 55.1 a month earlier, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said on Wednesday.

It was the first time that the index fell below the boom-bust line of 50 since February 2009, when the index hit a record low of 41.9.

Its sharp drop contrasted with HSBC's China services sector PMI, which eased only a touch to 56.7 in February, staying comfortably within expansionary territory.

All of the PMI surveys for February were complicated by the timing of the Chinese New Year holiday, which effectively halted work for a full week last month.

According to the CFLP's official survey, the new order sub-index for China's service sectors fell to 46.2 in February. But the outlook sub-index was strong at 68.0, showing that service sector managers remained confident.

China's non-manufacturing survey covers the construction, postal, software, aviation, railway, retailing and catering sectors.

The official manufacturing PMI, which the CFLP compiles on behalf of the National Bureau of Statistics, fell to 52.0 in February from 55.8 in January.